Solar Chernobyl – Nuclear Fallout to Renewable Energy Emergence

It was just 38 years back, Chernobyl, a city in the Ivankiv Raion of Ukraine, became a world stage for the ill-effects of nuclear power generation. The malfunction due to various reasons like design flaws, inadequate personnel training resulted in an explosion at reactor 4. Over the years, the ensuing radiation poisoning cumulated in various Acute Radiation Syndrome (ARS) related deaths and the establishment of the Chernobyl exclusion zone. After the dissolution of Soviet Union, this zone became part of the modern Ukraine.  The 2600 sq.km zone is managed by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine and restricts civilian settlements and access. Disasters like Chernobyl and Fukushima reemphasizes the volatility of nuclear fuels and the comparitively better security of renewable energy technologies. Thus, it also becomes a bit ironic that Chernobyl starts getting affiliated with solar power plant.

Chernobyl Solar Plant

The Chernobyl Exclusion zone will remain inaccessible to civilians for atleast 20,000 years due to the fallout. However, that does not mean the land cannot be utilized effectively. Here comes in the idea of solar projects. After nearly three decades, the Chernobyl solar plant opens about 300 feet from the remnants of the disaster.. Costing USD 1.2 million, the 1MW plant can  power about 2,000 households annually. The farm has about 3,800 solar panels. This is the preliminary stage of an envisioned project of 100MW capacity project spread over 6,000 acres. Even though, this is not even close to the 4,000 MW capacity of Ukraine’s existing nuclear reactors, it is a right step in the right direction for sustainable development in the area. The electrical infrastructure is well suited to handle large renewable energy installations as it was originally designed for 12 nuclear reactors (reactors 5 and 6 were under construction when 4 malfunctioned).